


I'll Be Home For Christmas

by TopHatCat



Category: Kuroshitsuji : The Most Beautiful DEATH in the World - Iwasaki/Mori/Mari, Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Eve, F/M, Fluff, Grim Reaper - Freeform, M/M, Musical, Shinigami, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-26 14:11:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17143223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TopHatCat/pseuds/TopHatCat
Summary: Will and Eric are gone, and Eric promised he'd be back for Christmas, but it's Christmas Eve now and Alan and Grell miss their boys.





	I'll Be Home For Christmas

It was Christmas Eve and all was quiet and peaceful.  There was a blanket of fresh snow on the ground and more drifted down from the cloudy evening sky.  Christmas wreaths and bows adorned the windows and fences along the streets, and the lamps seemed to give of a yellow glow that was softer than usual. Inside, the tree was decorated, the house trimmed with pinecones and candles that gave of gingerbread, peppermint, and cinnamon scents.  The presents at the base of the bedazzled pine tree were beautifully wrapped and ready for the next morning.

But not everything was perfect.

Alan Humphries looked out the balcony window in his flat, wearing a Christmas sweater and holding a warm cup of cocoa in his hands.  The house was picture perfect; he’d even started a fire in the hearth when he got home from work, but the reaper was far from satisfied.  He let out a sigh that fogged the window and his glasses, and scrubbed the moisture away to properly watch the falling snow.  It fell gently, settling down on everything in sight.

Turning from the window, Alan moved to the fireplace, absentmindedly fiddling with the decorations on the mantle.  Eric liked to place things every which way, and he’d covered up several of the photographs with pine boughs and ribbons, so Alan set his cup down and set about making the pictures visible again.  If the other reaper were there, he’d tease him about wanting to hide their friends’ faces, but Eric was still away and there was no telling when he’d get back.

“Germany isn’t that far,” Eric had said a few days before, as he packed to leave. “This business thing will be short, and Will and I will be back for Christmas.”

“You’d better,” Alan had replied with a smile as he took the clothes Eric shoved into his suitcase and folded them so they all fit.  “I expect you back Christmas Eve at the latest, mister.”

“I promise,” Eric had laughed, kissing his cheek.  “I wouldn’t miss Christmas with you for the world.”

But now, when Alan glanced at the mantle clock, it read 8 ‘o’ clock and there was still no sign of either reaper.  Alan was still alone for Christmas, besides the cats, who were good company but definitely weren’t Eric.  Blossom had come into the room now and was sitting just in the doorway, gazing upward at the mistletoe that hung in the doorframe.  The feline was obsessed with the bunch of greens and small red berries, and Alan shook his head, smiling.

“That would not be good for you to eat,” he said to the cat, walking across the room and picking the fat gray cat.  “It wouldn’t be pretty, I can tell you that.”

Blossom looked at him indignantly, as if to say, ‘How dare you tell me what I can and cannot do’, and returned to staring at the mistletoe.  Alan rolled his eyes at the behavior.

“I’ll tell you what, I’ll get you a bit of catnip from the cabinet and then we’ll forget the mistletoe, alright?”

Even if Blossom had been able to reply, he wouldn’t have had a chance, for at that moment headlights, a rarity this late and in this weather, shone across the window.  Alan set Blossom down and ran to the balcony doors, peering out in hope, but it wasn’t Will’s black car, dropping Eric off, but a red convertible with the top up. Alan’s heart sank, but only a little, as the car parked just in front of the gate and a familiar red headed reaper got out.

If Eric wasn’t here, then Alan would be glad to have any companionship, and Grell was all the more welcome at the house, as her man was also gone this Christmas Eve.  Alan waved out the window, and Grell held up a bottle of wine she pulled from the backseat in reply before starting for the door. Going into the hall, Alan unlocked the door just as his unexpected guest came up the steps, shaking snow from her hair.

“My goodness!” she said, stripping off her scarf and black leather gloves and tossing them on the hall bench, “It’s freezing out there!  And have you ever tried walking through four inches of snow in three inch heels?  I can tell you, it’s _not_ an easy thing to do.”  Tossing her hair, she wiped melting snowflakes from her cheeks as her glasses fogged up. “Do you know it took me _forever_ to clear the windshield?  I have fur on this coat and it doesn’t like to be saturated with snow.  Where is my husband when I need him, am I right?”

“Hello, Grell,” Alan replied, hanging up her coat and taking the wine, and he felt a little better.  He really didn’t care to spend Christmas alone, and Grell was good company.  “Do you want to drink the wine now?” he asked as they walked to the kitchen.

“Yes,” the red reaper answered, “I’ve been waiting all day for a chance to relax.”  Stretching her arms above her head, she looked around.  “Your place looks lovely, all decorated like this. So quaint.”

“Thank you,” Alan said taking two glasses from the cabinet. “Come on into the living room; you can see our tree.”

“How is it without Eric?” Grell asked as they crossed the hall.  She tapped the mistletoe with her finger as they passed under it.  “I know I’ve been pining for Will.  Our mistletoe has been up for days and I’ve only been able to get a few kisses under it before he left.”

“Eric said they’d be home for Christmas, but it doesn’t look like that will happen,” Alan said, sitting on the couch and pouring the wine.  Taking a sip, he found it strong but not unenjoyable.  “I hope everything is going okay with them.”

“The only thing that’s going wrong is the fact that they’re not here with us,” Grell said.  She settled back into the cushions and crossed her legs, eyes travelling around the room.  “Did Eric help decorate?  Will set up out entire little ceramic Christmas village.  It took him hours and it goes all along the living room window sills, and above the kitchen cabinets and fireplace.”  Her eyes softened and she smiled.  “He is so meticulous…everything has it’s proper place.  So lovely…so precious.”

Alan wondered if she was talking about the village or Will, but suspected she didn’t speak that lovingly about the decorations.  He motioned about the room.  “Eric helped with just about everything.  He did the tree lights because I refused to bother with them this year.”

Grell laughed. “It’s his turn to suffer the untangling, is it?”

Alan giggled. “Yes, and I feel a little bad, but not very.”

“Oh you’re evil,” Grell snickered, taking another drink of her wine.  “But he has your cookies as a reward, right?”

“He’ll do anything for sweets,” Alan assured her.  “How do you think I go him to marry me?”

Grell snorted so hard into her glass she nearly spilled the drink inside.  When she had composed herself, she replied, “Hon, you’re too much tonight!”

“Must be the wine,” Alan smiled, though he’d hardly drunk half a glass.  He knew it was Grell’s company that made him happy, and they kept up the cheerful attitude as the night wore on and the snow continued to fall.

It was closing in on midnight when their conversation ebbed.  Alan knew the time because he couldn’t stop himself from glancing at the mantle clock every few minutes.  The timepiece had no way of telling him when Eric would be home, but the small hope he’d be back before the night ended still lingered in Alan’s heart.

The two reapers sat in silence, gazing at the tree and fire, and watching the cats lazily play with each other on the carpet.  Alan noted how both he and Grell perked up a bit whenever headlights went by, but none stopped in front of the two-story house, and eventually there were no more cars going by as the fallen snow got deeper and deeper.

“I guess the snow prevented Eric from keeping his promise,” Alan murmured, and Grell stirred out of a doze at the other end of the sofa.

“Hmm?”

“Eric said he’d be home Christmas Eve,” the small reaper sighed, setting his glass down.  “But it’s two to twelve now.”

“Perhaps we’ll at least get them for Christmas Day,” Grell said, swirling the little wine in her glass around and around before placing it beside Alan’s.  “That’d be nice…”

Regretful and subdued by the quietness of the room and the world outside, Alan stood up.  Grell was already half-asleep again as the reaper gathered the glasses and wine bottle from the table to take to the kitchen.  A lone set of headlights brushed over the curtains, slowly, as the vehicle crawled through the snow-covered street, just as the clock began to strike twelve.

Alan, doubtful but unable to resist, stepped over to the curtains, pushing them aside a few inches to peek out.  Through the balcony doors he saw the snow was deeper than he realized, with several inches having accumulated on Grell’s car since she arrived.  The lone car inching down the street was nearly at the house, and before Alan had time to recognize it, the right blinker turned on and it was pulling up alongside the curb.

A burst of joy erupted in Alan’s chest, and he said, “Grell! They’re home!”

The red reaper started, sitting up with yelp of joy, and Alan looked to the clock on the mantle.  “Just in time,” he whispered to himself, as the final chime of the clock faded.  Putting the wine things down, he rushed for the door, Grell close behind.  Ignoring boots and coats, Alan fairly flew down the steps and out the door, his slippers filling with snow as he threw himself into Eric’s arms as the tall reaper came through the gate.

“You made it!” he cried, hugging Eric tightly. “You were home on Christmas Eve!”

“Was I?” Eric said, returning the embrace, “I was afraid we’d be too slow!”

“He kept saying ‘I told Al I’d be home on the Eve of Christmas’,” Will said, after kissing Grell.  “I’ve honestly never seen anyone in such a rush before.”

Alan laughed. “We missed you.  Both of you.”

“We both have lonely mistletoe in our houses,” Grell said, resting her head on Will’s shoulder.

Alan nodded, then shivered, the cold finally reaching him through his clothes.  “Let’s go inside, all of us,” he said. “Will, Grell, you’re welcome to stay the night, since it’s so late.”

The two agreed and they all went into the flat, Grell pulling off Will’s outer wear as she chatted about what had happened in the days he’d been gone.  Alan began undoing the buttons of Eric’s coat, but the tall reaper stopped him, taking hold of the smaller reaper’s hands.  Alan glanced up into his husband’s sparkling eyes and asked, “What is it?”

 “Merry Christmas, flower,” Eric said softly. “I would never leave you alone for Christmas.”

Alan smiled.  “I know you wouldn’t,” he replied, standing on tiptoe to kiss Eric’s cheek.  “Merry Christmas, darling.”

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to everyone! It's been an interesting year, but I've met some cool people because of Alan and Eric, and that's the greatest gift of all. Have a wonderful rest of December and a glorious New Year!
> 
> Don't forget to leave a comment! I'd appreciate your thoughts :)


End file.
